Former Syracuse TV reporter Katherine Creag died suddenly Wednesday night, NBC 4 New York (WNBC) announced Thursday.
WNBC said Creag, known for her distinctive voice and hearty laugh, passed away unexpectedly overnight. A cause of death has not been announced; she had not been ill and was working as recently as Wednesday morning, the television station said.
She was 47, according to the New York Post.
Creag was a Manila, Philippines, native who worked at CBS 5 (WTVH) in Syracuse more than 20 years ago, before it merged with NBC 3 (WSTM) to become CNY Central. She was there from approximately 1998 to 2000, at the same time as David Muir, Maureen Green, and longtime CNY Central anchor Matt Mulcachy.
“What a loss! Katherine Creag beamed with light every day. I can picture her greeting to my wife and I ‘Hello Mulcahys!!’ So sweet. Award winning in every way. #RipKatherine,” Mulcahy wrote on Twitter.
Mulcahy told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that he remained friends with Creag over the years, seeing her at Christmas mass in Rome, N.Y., and in New York City during the New York Emmy Awards.
“The first thing that stands out is she was a ray of light every single day,” Mulcahy said. “She was always smiling and took everything in stride. She was very easy going and very professional. She was also gifted in terms of being a communicator.”
“There are certain people that are connecting friends to other people,” he added. “She was friends with a lot of people that connected person ‘A’ to ‘C’ and she was the person ‘B’ in the middle. It’s a testament to her personality and her energy. She’ll be definitely missed.”
Former Syracuse TV reporter Katherine Creag is pictured second from left in this photo shared by CNY Central anchor Matt Mulcahy, far right.Courtesy Matt Mulcahy
“This is just so sad. I had the pleasure of working with this wonderful lady when she was just beginning her career at WTVH,” Lou Gulino wrote on Facebook. “She was bright, hard-working, and just a pleasure to be around. It is so heartbreaking knowing that she leaves three young children behind.”
“This one hurts,” added former WTVH news producer Ryan Fisher, who worked with Creag at Fox 5 in New York. “Katherine Creag was just the best. Like just the best... My first memories of Kat are from when I didn’t know her, but I watched her as a reporter in Syracuse, at the station that would later hire me for my first producing job. Even though we never worked together there, it was the foundation for so many ‘familiar’ connections once she arrived in NYC and we met each other in the middle of the night. You better damn believe I’ll be having a drink for you today, Kat. The overnight shift will never, ever be the same without you, anywhere.”
Creag graduated from New York University in 1996 and began her career at NY1 in New York. She also worked for WNYW/Fox 5 in New York City; KDFW Fox 4 in Dallas, Texas; and WSOC in Charlotte, North Carolina, before joining NBC New York in 2011.
“For ten years Kat was one of our cornerstones, always willing to help in any situation, whether it was a colleague in need or a shift that needed to be covered. She was thoughtful, funny and relentless. And even on the toughest days she was a bright light, quick with a kind word and a smile,” WNBC’s vice president of news, Amy Morris, said in a statement.
Creag won or shared in winning multiple Emmys, AP and Edward R. Murrow awards in her career.
She’s survived by her husband of 14 years, Central New York native Bill Gafner, and three young children.